István Bunda
István Bunda was a pre-war political activist and public intellectuel from Hungary. He was the founder and first leader of the National Reformers and had advocated for reform for all aspects of Hungarian Society. He lived a long life and was almost as well-known as András Almas. He died on October 23rd, 2077 when the bombs fell during the Great War Biography Early Life Bunda was born in Győr, Hungary on March 18th, 1997. He was an only child and was raised by his two parents. His mother was a secretary for the local church as he was born into a Catholic family and his father was a factory worker. He had a gone and peaceful life to say the least until in 2008 when his family fell into financail issues following the world-wide recession. He spent much of his time in school as his home life was too dramatic and he couldn't handle it. In 2014, his father was killed during his time in the factory when an accident had caused the building to explode and his mother was forced to take state benefits as a result. Bunda graduated highschool in 2015 and continued to persue his education career. Early Activism During his time in college, Bunda had dedicated his time to his studies as he hoped it could help his mother who had now gone into retirement and could no longer financiall support him. He was able to support his mother but got invovled in politics when in 2019, the Hungarian Government began to cut back on many social programs to accomidate for debt the country owed to the European Commonwealth which caused mass upheaval and thus, Bunda advocated for Hungary to fight for soveriegnty in the European Commonwealth. Bunda was also recorded as being one of the very frist Hungarians to advocate for separation from the EC. Conflicts with the Church During his twenties, Bunda was still a member of the Roman Catholic Church that his family was and respected the church well. At the age of 27 however, Bunda had grown frustrated from the actions and certain teachings of the Catholic Church and from the Pope at the time. In November of 2024, Bunda had managed to meet up with a Catholic bishop and asked him on why the church had gone in a controversial direction but the bishop excused it by saying that the Pope is the speaker for God and thus shouldn't be questioned. Furious, he studied the Protestant Reformation and eventually converted to Protestantism in response to the church and declared that the church was corrupt and that Protestantism was the only way to live as a Christian without church dogma. Reformist Activism Throughout the 2040s, Bunda had grown concerned with the future of Hungary has he was irked with the rise of conservative culture and conservative Hungarian customs such as growing influence of the Catholic Church and traditional views on gener, culture, and even religion. As oil supplies decreased, Bunda had decided to gather many of the country's philosophers, intellectuels, and other thinkers all together in Budapest where in 2051, he successfully convinced all of his guests to join him and he founded the National Reformers, an activist group that seeks to reform Hungary and make it a more equitable and free nation. Bunda would then spend the 2050s leading the reformers as they advocated for withdraw from the European Commonwealth, a more democratic government, religious freedom and protections for religious minorities, and for a more equal economic and political system. In 2056, the reformists had already gained attention and attraction from mainstream Hungary and Bunda appeared on live national tv that same year to discuess what the reformers are and other main issues such as withdraw of Hungarian and European troops from the Middle East. When the Middle East war had ended with the dissolution of the United Arab Coalition and the return of European Forces after the victory in the region, Bunda had predicted the fall of the European Commonwealth and his prediction came true as on January 11th, 2060, the delegates held their final meeting the European Commonwealth and officially dissolved leaving its member states to fend for themselves. Failing Health In March of 2060, Bunda's health had fallen greatly, his legs had grown weak and he had needed to closely monitor his footsteps and he eventually fell to an unknown illness on December 16th. The doctors had stated that Bunda would live but that he would need to rest so Bunda stepped down as the leader of the National Reformers and in 2061, he was replaced by Almas who quickly took over and lead the reformists to success. Throughout the rest of the 2060s up until 2072, Bunda would remain at his home in Budapest until he could recover. Returning to the Reformers On February 4th, 2072, Bunda had been declared free from his sickness and was let go but needed to watch his diet and overall health of which he did. That same day, he returned back to the reformers where he would remain as the group's secondary leader but Almas kept the position as the reformist leader. Almas and Bunda held a meeting where Almas had discussed the major issues such as the occupation of Hungary by the Soviet Union and how the reformists plan to advocate peacefully for their withdraw. Bunda had agreed but he stated that the reformers must protest in small groups and in many cities as he feared that if they performed a mass demonstration in Budapest or any other major city, another massacre would insue. Later Life and Death Bunda had began to grow tired and wanted to simply go back to his peaceful life and retire but he knew that the time wasn't right and that he needed to stay and fight for Hungary. In 2074, he had discovered an abandoned fallout shelter in Budapest and was able to purchased it and rebuilt it to be a functioning fallout shelter but also made it public as well. He feared that a nuclear war was coming and informed the rest of the reformists and stayed with Almas in Miskolc up in Northern Hungary for the time being. On October 23rd, 2077, Bunda was with Almas where Almas had visited his childhood home one last time and traveled with Almas and the remaining reformist leaders to Hungary. At around 11:28 AM, Bunda arrived in Budapest where he had overhear on a nearby Soviet radio that nuclear missiles had been launched and that Soviet bombers were mobilized and in the air. The Great War had begun and Almas, Bunda, and the other reformist leaders all ran to the shelter but they were too late as a nuclear bomb dropped on Budapest and killed all of them just as they were outside the shelter's entrence. Legacy Bunda was honored greatly after the war had ended with the survivng reformers that made it to the shelter dedicating his birthday to be a day of honor and respect. Bunda's dream of a more progressive and equal Hungary would continue to be pushed along by his followers and much like Almas, the generation afterwards had began to create a new society based around their ideas alone and currently push to build Bunda's dream Hungary. His followers are now known as the Enlightened Ones. Many post-war protestant denominations also worship Bunda as a saint. Personality Bunda was a calm and collected man who was always passive and quiet. When he spoke, he spoke with pride and strength and was a powerful leader. During the Resource Wars, his speeches gave hope to the needs of desperate and needy pre-war Hungarians and he would fight for his beliefs no matter what opposition he faced. Bunda was a devout protestant in private and believed that one could live for Christ without the needs and commands of the Vatican or a centralized church or Vatican-like institution and was a vocal critic and opponent of the Catholic Church. Category:People